So we finally met “The Master”, Ivan Nikolayevich finally knows who Woland is and what happened to Yeshua despite being still unaware no one besides The Master believes him, among many other things. I hope you guys are enjoying it.
Next week we’ll discuss chapters 18-24.
Also, petition for a Marsey Behemoth.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I'm really enjoying it so far. The main theme that's coming through for me so far is the challenge of grappling with a socially-unacceptable truth. Some random thoughts on each chapter:
There's an interesting bait-and-switch here in the title. It seems that Doctor "Professor" Stravinsky
is doing Professor Woland's work for him. Perhaps unknowingly turning the force of soviet oppression on the unfortunates who have had run-ins with Woland's supernatural entourage. 
Ivanovich accepted the wrong kind of bribe. This society is clearly corrupt, with people constantly jockeying for special treatment, yet taking a bribe from the devil's friends is still a step too far. If only Ivanovich had been bribed through the proper channels
Rimsky and Varenukha know that something very strange has happened, but they have no direct experience of it. Locked in an office with only second-hand messages and their own speculation to go on, they're forced to conjure up "rational" explanations for a supernatural truth
. When the truth finally does appear to Varenukha, it literally bops him over the head and kidnaps him. 
As a kind of mirror to the last chapter, Ivan is now struggling to communicate the truth to others in an acceptable way. The more honest his account, the more he looks like a madman. There are parallels here to both religious experiences and the artist's task of communicating a message to an audience. Honest madness or an acceptable lie?
The audience who eagerly go along with the show are offered only fakery: fake money, fake clothes, and yet Bengalsky, who must deny the reality of everything, is given a very real and very disturbing experience.
It seems that the author isn't against scepticism, but it must be measured and properly applied.
We, the readers, can't even be completely sure what is real here. The framing of a magic show allows Woland's gang to act more openly, and yet makes their actions ring false. Some Exposé
Wolond's gang seem to like decapitating people. Quite a few citizens are losing their heads in one way or another.
Hey, it's the master. Margarita (I'm assuming the woman is Margarita)
seems to serve as a kind of muse to him, pushing him to write his story in spite of its unacceptability.
The master's account is interesting, but it seems like some important parts are missing. Why is he so sure that Wolov is the devil? Does he know him? Why would both Wolov and the Master be so obsessed with Pontius Pilate?
This is an odd chapter. I need to think about this one some more. I wonder if they would have attacked Rimsky so openly if he'd just gone along with the story they were trying to sell him?
Again facing the truth is more difficult than accepting a lie. Rimsky at least has enough courage to acknowledge it, but quickly flees when it turns out to be too much for him.
Rimsky is turned into a boomer
the fate of all those who face the truth.
Just as Ivan begins to chill out, Ivanovich starts to parrot
him. Woland (or at least Koroviev) seems to have that effect on people. The asylum, rather than being a place of restoration, is a place to lock-up inconvenient people until they decide to stop being inconvenient.
I haven't read this one yet lololol
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Ma'am we've been over this before. You need to stop.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Woland's name is a reference to Faust's Mephistopheles (where he is refered as Voland).
He asks Ivan if he read Faust, because he (Ivan) does not understand the significance of the name
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I guess I'm like Ivan in that regard. I haven't read it either. I'm sure a lot of the biblical stuff flies over my head too.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context